 Agility Robotics, maker of the two-legged robot Digit, is planning a major expansion using a recent $150M funding round that included Amazon and other investors. The Oregon-based company wants to launch a 200,000-plus-square-foot robotics factory in the state by 2024. More: - Agility was among the first five startups to receive backing from the newly announced $1B Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund (AIIF), which is geared toward companies working on customer fulfillment, logistics, and supply chain technologies.
- Agility's latest $150M Series B round included funds from the AIFF but was led by DCVC and Playground Global.
- Using the capital infusion, Agility plans to accelerate its search for a factory site. It will also expand offices in Oregon and Silicon Valley and establish a base in Pittsburgh, where its CEO Damion Shelton is based.
- In addition, Agility also plans to double its headcount by the end of 2022, Shelton said.
Zoom-out: - Shelton, who has a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon, noted that Agility has had connections to Amazon for years.
- Founded in 2015, Agility introduced Digit in 2019 and began selling the robot in 2020. It partnered with Ford, which has used Digit robots to research last-mile package delivery.
- Digit is primed for warehouse tasks. Footage from last year shows the bipedal humanoid bot's flexibility, reach, and ability to carry different sizes and weights.
PITTSBURGH INNO 
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A group of Democratic Senators has asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for details about federal plans to support autonomous vehicles through new policies and other efforts. In a letter dated Wednesday, the Senators said the U.S. lags behind other countries in creating a regulatory framework for AVs, which would foster innovation and create jobs. More: - AVs can deliver major benefits for Americans, but only if the federal government enacts policies to regulate them, they wrote.
- The Senators cited the opportunities posed by self-driving cars to make roads safer and create and support jobs in manufacturing, logistics, and transit.
- They also noted the investments and efforts supporting autonomous vehicles in China and other competing countries.
- The letter is seeking more information on department actions toward AVs in the near term, which agencies will oversee their development and manufacturing, their jobs impact, and plans to update federal safety standards to include AVs.
- The Senators, led by Gary Peters (D-Mich.), included Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Bob Casey (D-Colo.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).
REUTERS
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Meta developed an AI model that produced new and less-carbon-intensive concrete formulas. The Facebook parent company has since tested out one of the concrete mixtures at its new data center in DeKalb, Illinois. More: - Concrete is typically made up of water mixed with an aggregate like gravel and cement — the component responsible for much of its carbon footprint and a source of roughly 8% of carbon emissions.
- Meta, alongside the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, took an AI approach to look for lower-carbon concrete mixes:
- Researchers trained an algorithm using a database of different concrete formulas with their corresponding carbon strength and impact.
- The algorithm generated a list of new formulas, of which Meta chose the five most promising to test in a lab.
- Meta said the formulas exceeded its strength requirements and were up to 40% less carbon-intensive than the regional average.
- It refined the mixes to create a formula that replaced much of the cement with fly ash and slag.
- The concrete was tested in the real world at its Illinois data center.
- Researchers detailed the project in a pre-print paper.
Zoom-out: - However, it's likely that Meta's concretes are not necessarily "novel." Walter Kaufmann, of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, notes that Europe has stopped using concrete described as the "industry standard" by Meta years ago.
- The lower emissions outlined in Meta's paper are the same as the average emissions from existing concrete in Switzerland, he said.
NEW SCIENTIST
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RelationalAI, a provider of "knowledge graphs" to help companies develop intelligent data apps, secured a $75M funding round led by Tiger Global. Knowledge graphics are databases that represent key relationships in business concepts. For example, they power Google’s knowledge panels in its search results. More: - The company pioneered relational algorithms that augment new database systems, according to new Relational board member Bob Muglia.
- RelationalAI says knowledge graphs are used in cloud data platforms, including data warehouses and lakes.
- The graphs can help "integrate complex business logic and machine learning into the database itself," Muglia said.
- The company said its service is in early access. It plans to make it self-service in early 2023.
- The Series B round also included participation from previous investor Madrona Venture Group, which led the startup's Series A in 2021, along with Addition and Menlo Ventures.
- RelationalAI’s total funding is now $122M.
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Eurora Solutions, an Estonian startup that uses AI to automate e-commerce shipping compliance, announced a $40M fundraise led by Connected Capital. The company is focused on the EU region but plans to use the fresh funding to expand across the U.K., the U.S., and the Middle East. More: - The startup's AI platform is focused on automation solutions for tax calculations and electronic declarations.
- It acquires knowledge of market practices by tapping into 500+ million records of training data from logistics transactions worldwide.
- Eurora’s platform can help merchants "make deliveries faster and at lower costs," according to CEO and founder Marko Lastik.
- Eurora says its 200+ clients include e-commerce giant JD.com, Yanwen, and TopYou.
- In addition to its geographical expansion, Eurora intends to use the new capital for product development and potential acquisitions.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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